 | Parthenophil and Parthenophe |  |
ELEGIE XVII.
[Deare mistresse then my soule to me much dearer]
Deare mistresse then my soule to me much dearer,Wonder not that another writes my letter:
For sorrow still mine hart oppresseth nearer,
And extreame sicknesse doth my sinewes fetter.
Of my deare life to thy loue am I debter.
Thine is my soule, then soule what can be meerer:
Thine my cheefe best, then that what can better?
Absented farre, and (that which is farre worse)
Vnable either for to goe, or ryde,
Here am I in perpetuall bondage tyed,
Then if with saluage Sauromates, farre worse:
This ayer is loath-some, and this ayer I curse,
Because with thy sweet breathe it is not blest.
Though hot, coole waters I can not abide
(Since the which thy cleare eyes as all the rest)
Be not (as they sometimes were) purified.
The ground (I tread) my footing doth infest:
Because it is not hallowed with thy feete.
I loath all meate, for all meate is vnmeete
Which is not eaten, where thy sweet selfe feedest.
Nothing is pleasaunt, louely, rich, or sweete,
92
Ah too deare absence which this sicknesse breedest,
Of thy deare sweet, which can not be too deare.
Yet if thou wilt voutch-safe my life to saue
Write but one lyne, oue lyne my life will cheare:
The ransome of my life thy name will pay,
And I be freede from my much doubtfull feare.
| Parthenophil and Parthenophe | |